SUNDAY
Leaving the campsite at Palmarin, I headed east for Toubakouta, which isn’t far from the western border to the Gambia. Mid-morning I stopped to make some tea and I had a message from German couple I had met a few days earlier to say the ferry across the Gambia River to Banjul, the capital, had broken down. This meant a big detour as the next bridge to cross the river was about 125 miles upstream from Banjul.
In this part of the world you ALWAYS need a Plan B, and this now meant carrying on east for about 175 miles and making for Kungheul. There was a campsite listed there and it was only 15 miles south to a small border post – so eastwards I rode.
When I got to the campsite, it looked really run down and the man with gold teeth and a NY baseball cap said he wanted 10,000 Francs, when the going rate should be 5000 (£5.70). The campsite looked really bad and there was lots of young men hanging around, so with my ‘spidey-senses’ tingling I said ‘NON’ and rode off into the red dust. I now needed a plan C – which was to either wild camp nearby and cross the border in the morning OR make a run for the border NOW.
Well, there’s no time like the present they say…
I remember reading somewhere that the border closed at 5pm. Google maps said it would take 50 minutes on the dirt road and it was 3.45 – so let’s go…. The dirt road was actually pretty good and I passed through several villages made of small round mud buildings with thatched roofs, dodging lots of boys, cows, horses and chickens. There was also lots of waves from the village people as I rode through… The dirt road was a mixture of hard dirt with some holes and undulations, some sand and alot of corrugation in places but I made some good time. I even got into 4th gear at one stage, but I had to stand on the foot-pegs most of the way.
I got to the Senegal border post at 4.30 and was away within 10 minutes. The customs guy was cool but the policeman a bit dubious of my Passavant (vehicle permit). Eventually he let me go and after lots of hand-shaking I let myself through the barrier, out of Senegal and on my way to the Maka Goui border post. I got there at 4.50 and the border staff were great. It’s just a small building with a window you chat through, and within five minutes I had my passport stamped, my Passavant issued for one month – and I was back on the road and in THE GAMBIA…!
My next issue was – where to sleep the night and what to I do for money, as I only had Senegal Francs, Euros and Dollars – but no Gambian Dalasi. Heading east again I passed through a town but it was all closed. It was Sunday, so money changing will have to wait for tomorrow. So where to camp…? About 5 miles past the town I spotted a track leading off into the bush and up a hill for about 200m so I turned off, followed it and found myself on a plateaux, which was in the middle of nowhere and away from people. I had a look around for animal droppings to see if I should risk it and couldn’t find any so decided to camp on this hill. And what a peaceful place it was – and a fitting end to a busy day. I had ridden a little over 200 miles and crossed into The Gambia a day early…!
MONDAY…
What a great sleep, as it was so peaceful and so mild overnight. After breakfast – a tin of mixed fruit, some nuts and two mugs of Yorkshire’s finest tea – I packed up, got back onto the main road and visited the nearby town to see about changing some money. It was market day, so as you can imagine it was full of noise, chaos and a million different colours. I managed to change 50eu, which is enough to tide me over. The hardest part was getting back to the bike with a growing crowd of onlookers. After fighting my way through, I started the bike and headed east.
I arrived at Lamin Koto to wait for the ferry which crosses the Gambia River to MacCarthy Island, and the town of Janjanbureh. There is a ticket office to the right and it cost $50 – about 50 pence.
There’s no timetable, as the captain comes across when he thinks there’s enough people or vehicles to load, and I didn’t have to wait long. As soon as the ferry arrived they waved me on first, and because it’s like a landing-craft I then had to manoeuvre my bike through 180 degrees to face the opposite way, which wasn’t easy as the ferry was filling up quickly with foot passengers and goats.
I was last off the boat into Janjanbureh and stopped at a shop to get water, some bread AND a simcard for my phone. The shop even sold welding-rods. While I was waiting for my simcard to activate, a lad came in and bought a handful. Things do take time here and you have to be patient. While you’re being served, other people will interject, which is quite normal and the shopkeeper can usually serve two or three people at the same time. You just have to smile and accept that things do take time.
Heading east again I went to look for my campsite, which is about 1.5 miles outside the town along a dirt track. I found it, but the gate was locked – and then the caretaker found me. Sherrif had seen me ride past so followed me down the track on his bicycle. I’m the only person on the site and it’s £5 a night. For this, I am in a walled garden with secure gates, and I have to use river water to bathe. A bucket has been provided…! My tent is at the waters edge of the Gambia River and all I can hear is the water lapping against the shoreline, and a zillion different birdcalls around me and from the jungle on the opposite side of the river. Bliss…
I’m staying here for three nights, and tomorrow I’m going to visit the local area and then the day after – just do as little as possible and chill. And you know, I still can’t believe that I’ve made is as far as I have…!
